Champagne Corsets and Designs

“At Champagne Corsets and Designs, we are on a mission to bring back bespoke.” – Carol Stella, Corsetiere & Designer.

In a world of mass-produced fashion, Carol Stella, owner of Champagne Corsets & Designs, set out to fill a void for handcrafted, custom-made corsets.

Not only does Stella’s work deliver originality to the market, it brings a sense of empowerment for the women who wear her custom designs. “I see women come alive and become empowered as soon as they put it on,” she says. “It raises their confidence to a level they didn’t know they had.”

Photo by Christine Petit.

Stella studied fashion design, specializing in intimate apparel at the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she landed an internship with Delta Galil. The position turned into a job after graduation. She worked as a designer for Delta Galil, and with a few other intimate apparel brands, for 11 years before she left to open Champagne Corsets & Designs, custom corsetry and lingerie boutique in Montclair, NJ in 2012.

As Champagne Corsets & Designs grew, Stella saw her business shifting away from the retail and she began devoting more time and energy to the creation of bespoke corsets. “My vision in the beginning was always corsets and I really wanted to focus mainly on the corsetry part,” she says.

Stella moved closer to her family in Prospect, CT, where she currently operates her business. She works one-on-one with clients to create custom designs, and she uses her blog and website as a tool to help educate people about the benefits of corsetry.

“In my blogs I suggest how to wear and style each corset and how you can incorporate a corset into your everyday life and activities,” she says.

A recent post entitled, “How to Wear Corsets In Real Life,” describes a custom nautical-inspired corset Stella made with buttons her sister brought back from Italy. The post features photos of Stella wearing the corset at the beach.

“When people hear the word ‘corset’ or see me wearing one of mine, their initial reaction is to ask if I can breath in it. They assume it is rigid and I can’t eat. This one is made with 100 percent cotton and lined in luxurious 100 percent cotton as well,” Stella writes in her blog post. Images included in the post show Stella climbing on rocks and sitting comfortably on a bench to exhibit how corsets are easy enough to wear for everyday activities. Her posts also offer style and accessory tips for readers wishing to recreate her look.

“I think it’s important to show people how to style a corset whether it is for a causal look or for a black tie event,” she adds.

Additionally Stella uses her website and blog posts to educate people about the health benefits of corsets. “They can correct posture, control nagging back pain and muscle tension,” she says. “Corsets help strengthen the core after childbirth or surgery, support heavy breasts, minimize menstrual cramps, help with weight loss; and for many create that much sought after hourglass shape.”

Stella’s website, which was designed by Intimatology, is also an important outlet for generating new business. Champagnecorsets.com, features several bespoke corset designs that Stella has previously made. Typically, one corset takes six to eight weeks to complete and can incorporate materials such as upholstery fabrics, steel metal boning with handmade bone casing, horse hair, grommets for the back lace-up and waist tape.

Photo by Intimatology.

One of her recent designs, “Se Pavaner,” which was inspired by the colors of a peacock features rich teal and green velvet fabrics and an assortment of vintage beads and Swarovski crystals. “I spent hours and hours hand-beading this corset one bead at a time,” says Stella. “In addition to the fashion aesthetic of it, it still has all of the benefits of waist training including metal spiral boning, a wide underbusk bone at center front and is fully lined on the inside.”

“Each one of my custom, hand-made corsets has a story all its own. Every piece is carefully thought out and uniquely made with my blood, sweat and tears, literally,” Stella adds.

Photo by Christine Petit.

The Maréchal Corset, which means Smith or blacksmith, features a laser-cut, hand-beaded lace that has the appearance of wrought iron. Another corset, Je Fais Corset, was made for her sister’s wedding. “That is why I added the ‘something blue,” she says. “The floral lace is all hand cut and placed strategically with hand glued Swarovski crystals. The turquoise floral lace combined with the delicate white lace represents the purity and fidelity of heart and soul that the white dress itself once stood for.”

Photo by Christine Petit.

These corsets are all featured on Champagnecorsets.com, but none of them are for sale. Because the fit of a corset is so important, Stella mainly does custom orders, which include an in-person fitting. She also has a measurements chart on her website that customers can download and bring to a tailor to get accurate measurements if they are not local to her studio. “I make a mock up out of muslin and mail it to the client,” she says. “They can take pictures or we can Skype and then they send the mock up back with their corrections.”

Photo by Christine Petit.

Stella does not have a typical customer. “Both women and men of different ethnicities and ages come to me asking about custom corsets,” she says. “I’ve worked with a variety of demographics including a young male in his early 20s to a more recent client who was a 70-year-old woman. Every client has different needs for a corset—from waist training or fashion. It depends on their body needs.”